Deconstructing Comics

FLASHBACK! If you're into American comics at all, you undoubtedly know how Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and others changed the industry with their work in the 1960s, and set the template for kinds of stories Marvel still publishes today. 

That's just part of the story that Sean Howe researched for his 2012 book Marvel Comics: The Untold Story. Through interviews, research of media reports, and of course tons of comics reading, Howe uncovered the backgrounds of many comics stories and rumors that longtime readers may have wondered about. There's plenty of intra-creator acrimony to be...

Roy Beckwith and the Cursed Continent is a western series by Nick Patch, Jarret Katz, and Fabi Marques. It looks great but it runs at a breakneck pace and seems to be introducing a few too many elements. Tim and Jason discuss.

A French Expat in the U.K., by Agathe Montagnon, was sold through the LDC Online Comics Fair last summer. It's a quick and evenhanded look at some of the differences between the British and French cultures, as experienced by the author herself. American expats in Japan Tim and Adam take a look.<...

Last summer's Superman movie was a welcome improvement over many recent films featuring the character, and over much of the recent superhero film entries in general. Kumar and Emmet this week discuss how it comments on Zach Snyder's take, on internet culture, anti-immigrant sentiment, and more. They also address such topics as how the film distinguishes between Superman and Clark Kent, Superman's surprising vulnerability, and the Hall of Justice mural.

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What if your first Star Wars movie were Return of the Jedi? You'd have questions! That's how Tim felt once he got started reading Robotech II: The Sentinels volume 1, a comics continuation of the animated Robotech show that hit the U.S. in 1985. Robotech was a combination of three different anime -- why?? And why is it that, after all these years, the Robotech story doesn't really progress? Tim discusses with longtime Robotech fan Erik Amaya of Comicon.com.

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One of the most highly-regarded English-language strips of all time is George Herriman's Krazy Kat, featuring the odd love/hate triangle of Krazy, Ignatz, and Officer Pupp. Why was Krazy so gender-ambiguous? How did Herriman's (somewhat mysterious) racial background influence the strip? Tim and Kumar discuss this and much more. (Originally published September 2, 2013.)

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In 2023, King Features Syndicate decided to bring Flash Gordon, originally created by Alex Raymond and first published in 1934, back from rerun purgatory with new strips, written and drawn by Dan Schkade. Dan was also the artist on Dynamite Entertainment's Will Eisner's the Spirit Returns in 2016, and is also known for his original work Lavender Jack, which ran on Webtoon. This week, Tim talks with him about Flash Gordon and some of the trickier aspects of doing a newspaper strip, including refreshing readers' memories and getting new readers on board while also moving the story forward a step e...

From 1942 to 1966, many of the Donald Duck comic books published by Dell Comics were written and drawn by Carl Barks. Like most comic book creators at the time, his name was unknown; the Duck comics were all credited to Walt Disney. Fans only knew that his work was by the GOOD duck artist. Barks created Scrooge McDuck and many of the other duck characters that are taken for granted as part of Disney canon today.

What made Barks the standout Duck artist? Were they meant to be satirical, or simply enjoyable stories? Tim, Kumar, and To...

Captain America and the Falcon #212 concludes the Arnim Zola/Red Skull storyline in somewhat perfunctory fashion, and gives a living castle with big teeth much less P.R. than it deserved! In #213 we meet the strange and underutilized assassin the Night Flyer! (Underwhelming name? Must've been named by Jack Kirby!) Tim and Emmet discuss both issues in this episode.

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Joe Mallard, a favorite of Tim and Jason's from a year ago, is back! Creator Asante Amani has sent us issues 4-6 of this crime series. Did it go over with us as well as the first two issues did?

Ky Lawrence has created a trippy graphic novel about survivor's guilt. In Dream Machine, our protagonist dreams he can sacrifice himself to bring his cancer victim twin back to life. Tim and Adam critique.

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We've been building up to it for months with our reviews of previous Fantastic Four movies. Now it's here, the FF's debut in the MCU, Fantastic Four: First Steps. How well did it scratch that FF itch? Kumar and Jordan once again join Tim to review the film, and discuss how it stacks up against the others (including the unreleased 1994 version).

One idea about what "Subzero Intel" might mean

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This week, Koom interviews Wahab Algarmi, author of Almost Sunset, a graphic novel about a Muslim American boy's search for balance between his family traditions and the demands of life in Middle School. Koom and Wahab discuss their international family backgrounds as well as the merits or demerits of 1990s Image comics!

Almost Sunset on Amazon

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Ben Wickey has created a graphic novel, More Weight: A Salem Story, that gives us a very deep dive into the Salem witch trials: why they happened, who was to blame, and how the city has dealt with their legacy. This week Koom gets the scoop on what inspired Ben, why his art style seems to vary depending on what point in the past he's writing about, and more.

More Weight: A Salem Story on Amazon.com

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The film is bloated, it's busy, it showcases numerous failures at human communication, and doesn't hit some points it needs to. And yet, Spider-Man 3 screenwriter Alvin Sargent managed to weave together the many plotlines thrust on him to make a script with a message - although not necessarily the one director Sam Raimi had in mind. Tim and Mulele examine Raimi's final Spider-Man film. (Originally published on Patreon May 23, 2020.)

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To this day, Spider-man 2 is considered one of the best superhero movies. How does it stand up to Tim's first viewing, after watching all the MCU movies that came after? What does Mulele notice about the look of the film that's a little annoying? How is Spider-fan Tim feeling about the portrayal of Peter Parker in these movies? These points and more! (Originally published on Patreon April 25, 2020.)

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Tim and Mulele begin reviewing the Sony (pre-MCU) Spider-man movies with a look at 2002's Spider-man, directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire. After watching all the MCU movies, how does this film feel different? How was it affected by 9/11? And more. (Originally published on Patreon April 11, 2020)

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This week, a look at two great new comics submitted by their creators: 

God Summoner, by Dio Zogaris and Manos Laouvardos, is a story in the fantasy genre. Tim and Jason thought "Meh" until they actually read it! This is a well-written story with beautiful black and white art.

The Keluarga Cable Ship Company, by Mereida Fajardo, gives us a father and son with communication problems, and a ship that lays down undersea cable through which, well, communication flows. Or doesn't flow. But what makes the book stand out is its very unusual f...

FLASHBACK! Jim Shooter, who was Marvel Editor-in-Chief from 1978 to 1987, passed away on June 30. He wrote a number of comics published by Marvel (including the original Secret Wars series) and by a number of other companies. Two years ago, Koom interviewed Shooter to find out what he thought about Marvel in its current incarnation, get his recollections of Frank Miller and Ann Nocenti's respective starts in the comics industry, hear his theory that the nursery rhyme "Little Miss Muffet" can be a tool to teach good writing, and more. We re-present the interview this week in observance of h...

 In the 1960s, both Marvel and DC tried publishing humor books, often in a style reminiscent of MAD Magazine. One of these was DC's Angel and the Ape, about a beautiful young woman and a comics-artist gorilla who run a detective agency. While it only survived for 7 issues (with two title changes!) in 1968-69, somehow it got a Phil Foglio reboot in 1991, and showed up again as a Vertigo book in 2001, co-written by Howard Chaykin and David Tischman. While it's hard to explain the existence of these revivals, comparing the three versions gives us an appreciation of th...

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POW! ZAP! Comics may not be for kids anymore, but they still have sound effects! Our own Patrick Ijima-Washburn noticed that Japanese editions of American comics left the sound effects untranslated, and decided to put together a book on how common English sound effects should be translated. Life being what it is, it took well over a decade, but the book is finally out digitally, in both Japanese and English! This time Patrick joins Tim to talk about the genesis of the book, some sound effects trivia (what comic strip first used "ZZZZ" for snoring? Who originated a...

While the last three issues of Captain America and the Falcon we looked at were rather underwhelming, issues 209 to 211 give us all the kooky science fiction and Kirby Crackle we could want! The appearance of Arnim Zola, in his first face-off with Cap, has revitalized the story. But Falcon seems shunted off to the side, and what the heck happened to Anna Maria's personality?? Tim and Emmet discuss these three issues.

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We conclude our look at 2015's Fant4stic, directed by Josh Trank. Trank's behavior on the set (and on Twitter) have been nothing but bad for his career, and studio meddling was nothing but bad for a film that wasn't a good take on the FF, but might have at least been a better film if Trank had been left alone. As it was, we're left with yet another FF movie that's short on explanations of Dr. Doom's objectives.

Videos drawn on for this episode:

Should a director re-interpret a property when nobody wanted it re-interpreted? 2015's Fant4stic, directed by Josh Trank, turns getting superpowers into an exercise in body horror. Much of its inspiration comes from Bendis and Millar's very straightfaced Ultimate Fantastic Four comics, Trank threw in a liberal helping of The Fly and Scanners. Tim, Kumar, and Jordan (in another crossover with the Comic Book Movie Oblivion podcast) look at the first appearance of the Negative Zone in Fantastic Four #51 by Lee and Kirby, and at Ultimate Fantastic Four v. 1, before beginning a look at the film itself.

After the (connected) short stories of Safer Places, Kit Anderson's new book is a full-on graphic novel called Second Shift (again from Avery Hill) which has gotten some breathlessly positive reviews from writers who give the impression they totally understand it. At Deconstructing Comics, our reviews tend to be more nuanced. What did we think of it? I'm joined by Loyala Marymount University professor Juan Mah y Busch to examine this book, and we're not afraid to say we found it difficult to understand!

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FLASHBACK! Eileen Gray: A House Under the Sun is a slim graphic novel by Charlotte Malterre-Barthes and Zosia Dzierzawska, about the titular famous Irish architect that most people have never heard of. Kumar and Emmet found it beautiful and intriguing; here's their review. (Originally published August 28, 2019.) This episode includes a new intro from Emmet, referring to the recent film about Gray.

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Ken Krimstein's Einstein in Kafkaland: How Albert Fell Down the Rabbit Hole and Came up with the Universe builds on the fact that these two stars of the early 20th century were part of the same friend group at one point and builds it up into what NPR described as "Alice in Wonderland meets The Lives of the Poets meets Krazy Kat." This week Emmet talks with Ken about the book, the two historical figures featured in it, and the nature of comics itself.

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FLASHBACK! The 1990s DC series Starman is one of comicdom's most fondly remembered series. Interestingly, says series author James Robinson, it seems to be more popular now than it was when it was actually in production! James joins Tim and Ryan Haupt this week to look back on various aspects of this iconic series, including the theme of "legacy", a sneaky crossover with another series, a story arc that never happened, the differences in how the Big Two have dealt with their Golden Age characters, and much more. (Originally published January 6, 2014)

James Robinson on Science…Sort Of in...

Fables of Fear is an anthology horror title by Karl Brandt and David Parsons. Tim and Adam discuss; there are some good short stories here, but maybe they're a bit ... TOO short? Black Plastic, by Josh Tierney and Nicci Busse is, as its writer says, a "karaoke cyber-thriller" graphic novel. That's his description; Tim and Jason aren't quite sure what to think of it. Are we getting too old for this comics-critique stuff?

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FLASHBACK! This week a wide-ranging discussion between two Canadians, Koom and Ian, about comics in Canada. The talk centers on Montreal-based publisher Drawn & Quarterly, and two books from their catalog: Michel Rabagliati's 2005 book Paul Moves Out, and the latest from Jillian Tamaki, Boundless. Also, some deep background on the history and people behind Toronto comics shop The Beguiling. (Originally published August 7, 2017)

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FLASHBACK! Skim is a coming-of-age graphic novel written by Mariko Tamaki, and drawn by her cousin Jillian Tamaki. Jillian works primarily in the field of illustration; how does she find that different from drawing a comic? Is it wrong to say that a comic is "illustrated"? She also discusses her perhaps unorthodox collaboration with Mariko on Skim, and reviews of the book that see meanings in it that were completely unintentional, in this interview. (Originally published December 14, 2009)

Also, Tim met Jillian at Kaigai Manga Festa in Tokyo in 2015. That interview, from episode 474, also appears in t...

This week we look at the movie that was based on the "Galactus Trilogy" of Fantastic Four #48-50, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. How does it stand up against the comics, and against the 2005 film? How do we feel about Galactus being a cloud of smoke? Does Doom finally have a real plan in this one? Once again, Tim is joined by Kumar and Jordan of the Comic Book Movie Oblivion podcast to dig into this film, as we count down to the upcoming MCU debut of the FF.

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One of the most famous Fantastic Four stories is the "Galactus Trilogy" from Fantastic Four 48-50 in 1966. This story has been adopted more than once, including in the 1990s FF cartoon, and in 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Leading into our discussion of that movie next week, this week Tim, Kumar, and Jordan, in another crossover with the Comic Book Movie Oblivion podcast, look at the original comics story. While it's been quite lauded, and very influential, why can it also be considered flawed?

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When Steve and Sam foil an attempt by police from south of the border to arrest their friendly waiter, the cops decide to arrest Steve instead! Hey, beats heading home empty handed! What looks like it's going to be a story about Cap (and maybe Falcon?) locked up in a Central American prison takes several odd turns: Cap is never locked up, Sam never even arrives there, and then a fish monster shows up! These three issues conclude with the coming of a then-new Cap villain who we all know and loathe. Tim and Emmet try to...

In Clyde Fans by Seth, two brothers run a fan company for fifty years. One might expect it to be prosaic, but instead it's an immersive and epic exploration of the sense and meaning of life, every life, even when it's not apparent on the surface. Kumar and Dana ask the big questions.

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Briana Loewinsohn, who got a lot of praise two years back for her graphic memoir Ephemera, is back with a new book, Raised by Ghosts. It's a slightly fictionalized look at Briana's teen years, acting as both a time capsule of late-20th-century teenager culture, and the struggles of being comfortable with oneself that 's almost synonymous with the word "teenager." This week an interview with Briana about her new book, and then Tim and Jason review it.

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What's that Kirby Crackle octopus chasing Cap and Falcon? And didn't it used to be an oddly muscular, bald (naturally) corpse? It's Agron, who gives our heroes some headaches in Captain America and the Falcon issues 204 and 205. Not the best Jack Kirby Cap adventure ever, but it produces at least one wildly T-shirt-worthy panel! Tim and Emmet discuss.

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The Night People are looking for a superhero. But who are the Night People? Where do they come from? And what does one have to sacrifice to become their superhero? Tim and Emmet discuss Captain America and the Falcon issues 201-203!

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Michael Cohen has created comics such as Strange Attractors and Tangled River, and is credited with helping to create the first known comic book price guide. He's also co-host of the Unpacking Peanuts podcast, and his talk with Tim includes discussion of Charles Schultz's strip, including about the reason why Michael has no interest in Peanuts animation!

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While the 2005 film Fantastic Four gives us, debatably, a well-casted group of heroes, with plenty of comics-accurate details, the script does no favors to Dr. Doom. What are his goals, other than "taking everything back" from Reed? Why is he a CEO instead of a despot? Who the heck gives a frightening metal mask as a thank-you gift?? This time, Tim, Kumar, and Jordan (in a crossover with the Comic Book Movie Oblivion podcast) conclude their look at this film, and cap it off with a review of its endless development process.

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The Star Tide Shores is an action space adventure comic that isn't afraid to get a little deeper emotionally than, say, Star Wars. Tim and Adam enjoyed reading the first volume, by Henry Goeldner and Illuminated, and are here to give you the scoop.